Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has defended the reason behind his decision to include Ahmed Musa in the Super Eagles squad for the World Cup qualifiers playoff games against Ghana.
They have been calls that the coach should drop the 29 year old as he isn’t adding anything meaningful to the team and these days plays bit part roles as seen during the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations.
Musa who plays for Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk according to Eguavoen offers the team much more off the pitch than what he does on the pitch and as the captain and most capped Nigerian player he has to be let go with honour.
“Ahmed Musa has got some leadership qualities whether we like or not as well but he can always give us some good 45-60 minutes when it becomes really necessary, that is why we try to see how we can help him honourably leave the scene hopefully after the World Cup,” Eguavoen told a gathering of pressmen.
He said there is nothing unusual about the treatment Musa is getting as captain as it has always been the norms with past captains of the team when they approach the twilight of their careers.
“We are from a country that doesn’t forget tradition, we don’t forget history. These are things we did for late Keshi, 1994 he wasn’t playing but he was our leader. These are things we did for people like Peter Rufai, Joseph Yobo.
“He has agreed that after the World Cup he’s going to retire. We will still accord him that respect and honour because he’s got a major role to play in the team”, he stated.
